MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The closure of two Preston County schools now lies in the hands of the West Virginia Department of Education.
The Preston County Board of Education approved the closure of Fellowsville Elementary School and the Rowlesburg School in a 3-2 vote as a result of rising costs to keep the schools open. Preston County School Superintendent Brad Martin discussed issues that varied from major renovations needed for each facility and declining student enrollment to general cost-cutting measures to keep the county school system compliant on a state level as reasons for the closures to move forward.
“Overall the proposed closures are being recommended primarily due to the significant decline of enrollment in Rowlesburg and the district at large,” said Martin. “And due to the substantial cost savings with the closures,” he said.
According to Martin, the closure of Fellowsville Elementary and the Rowlesburg School relate to the declining student attendance at the schools along with increasing costs for the Preston County School system to keep them open. Originally included as part of the 2020 comprehensive educational facilities plan developed by the West Virginia School Building Authority, Martin reported that multiple years of declining enrollment at the schools and damages ranging from major roof repairs at Fellowsville to aging infrastructure at the Rowlesburg have made the tough decision a necessary one to make.
“We have seen a decline in the past two years, bringing a loss of 30 students,” said Martin, describing the decline at Rowlesburg. “Preston County Schools have seen significant decreases in that same span, a 16 percent decrease; Fellowsville lost 16 students in that same span, going from 75 students to 59,” he said.
The Preston County School System is expected to save over $600,000 for each closure as a result of staffing and maintenance cuts.
Preston County residents, current students, and staff, along with alumni of the schools, spoke for over an hour to advocate for the closures to not move forward, where student performance was mentioned alongside logistical concerns for the transfer of over 90 students in two schools. This also included individuals who offered to volunteer to help with construction projects for both the Rowlesburg School and Fellowsville Elementary (Rowlesburg has 34 students, Fellowsville currently has 59 students), despite the over $1 million in combined renovations needed for the schools. Longtime staff members also advocated for the schools to remain open.
“I have worked at Preston County schools for almost 26 years, in those 26 years I have had the honor of working at seven schools in Preston County, I can honestly say that smaller schools such as Fellowsville Elementary and the Rowlesburg School have been my favorite,” said Fellowsville Elementary School Principal Craig Schmidl, who spoke to the board during their regular meeting Monday.
In response to the public comments, Martin emphasized that the closure of the schools is mainly needed to keep the Preston County School system in good standing with the State Department of Education funding formula. This is based on an over 30 percent decline in enrollment at Fellowsville Elementary over five years with a ratio of staff to students at a near 1:1 for the Rowlesburg school due to an over 60 percent decline in that same period (Rowlesburg has 34 students to 29 staff). Martin also stated that even if the recently rejected County School Excess Levy was passed during the 2024 general election, the schools would’ve still needed to be closed in order to avoid a potential state takeover of the county school system.
“The district must either make cuts to get within the state aid formula or pay for any positions above and beyond the county formula with the county-based funds,” said Martin. “Without the closure of these two proposed schools, I find it to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to maintain and be within the state budget,” he said.
The Preston County School System was previously taken over by the State Department of Education back in 2009 due to being off-budget in comparison to the student aid formula. Control from the state wasn’t relinquished until 2014.
If the closures are formally approved by the State Department of Education, students of Fellowsville Elementary School will be transferred to South Preston Middle School, and Rowlesburg School students will be transferred to the Aurora School. School system staffing is also expected to be reduced by 27 positions in order to stay within the state funding formula with teachers who also worked at Aurora expected to be transferred pending job redundancy and state requirements. With over $1 million in savings, plus the funds that will be received once the property is sold as a result of the closures, the Preston County School System hopes it’ll be one of the last tough decisions to make to remain in compliance with state requirements.
“Board members, I know this is a terribly difficult decision, but I implore you that you should approve the recommended closure,” Martin said.
The Rowlesburg School will remain open for at least one academic year if the State Department of Education approves the closures. A decision is expected to be made on December 11.